The episode opens with Shaw (Superman Returns Brandon Routh) being tough on Chuck since he hasn’t flashed in 4eva (abbreviations!). For the uninitiated, Chuck’s flashing involves spy intel, NOT a creepy guy in a trenchcoat. So Shaw pulls the plug for the time being on Chuck’s spynanigans. Chuck is obviously distraught because well there’s a lot going on in his life: no more spy games, his former flame, Sarah is falling for Superman Super Spy Shaw, and he dumped Hannah because well he’s in love with his former flame. Of course he can’t tell anyone outside of Castle about his issues because that would compromise the mission! This makes me feel better about the fact I did not have a hot pocket for lunch today and my friend Meg did. The trained spies leave for a tropical locale (foreshadowing!).

Chuck calls Devon to vent and we see that the Awesomes are relaxing in a tropical locale and Devon is OUT of the spy game. Chuck returns to the Buy More only to be rapidly fired, as Morgan’s best friend, once he arrives. This sets Chuck up for even bigger news, someone is wrangling to purchase this Buy More and they are on-site to conduct interviews with each employee, Office Space style. And the allusions to Mike Judge’s cult hit, as Big Mike claimed “I’m a people person!” Great shout out. When Chuck is called in to his interview he implores the potential buyers (Dedrich Bader, Office Space! and Cedric Yarbrough, Reno 911) to keep Morgan if they’re going to keep anyone, because he’s the right man for the job and Morgan is his best friend.

Lester listens in on a conversation that the potential buyers are having while talking about keeping only Chuck and Morgan and terminating everyone else. Of course right about now, we start to realize We’re not in corporate takeover land anymore. The buyers=Ring Agents sent to find Shaw’s base and destroy it. Their team is hard at work trying to find an entrance to the secret base. Meanwhile, Morgan is doing Jeff a solid and taking some contraband out of his locker, when he gets spooked by two men entering the room to check the lockers for contraband. He quickly hides, only to discover what the Ring agents do: a secret entrance to Castle.  Morgan (stupidly) follows them in and listens in on their plans.

FRIENDSHIP! Right around now, we check in with the All-Spy squad who are tracking a Ring agent to guess where, Devon and Ellie’s tropical locale. Except when they are looking for the target, it turns out it’s Devon! Casey chases down the Ring agent’s location and finds the old tape recorder into a phone trick. GETS THEM EVERY TIME. Well needless to say, it’s a setup. Devon and Ellie are allowed to return to their tropical bliss, while Casey, Shaw, and Sarah head back to Burbank once they realize that they were lured AWAY from Chuck and Castle, their secret base.

Morgan escapes Castle undetected and finds Chuck and spills the beans (which are beans that Chuck already knows about) to Chuck. He then decides they need to stop the baddies from blowing up the Buy More, while the rest of the Buy More gang entrenches themselves in the store as to protest being fired by the potential buyers. Lots of Nerf Guns and a Jeffster rendition of “Fortunate Son” are used to launch their revolt.

Casey and Co. return just in time for Morgan and Chuck to get captured. However, the spies are locked out of Castle.  The Ring sends two men after Casey and he goes all Casey on them with a little assist from Jeff and his contraband (some cloths soaked in chemical).  Shaw and Sarah argue about whether or not to initiate self-destruction of Castle. Sarah convinces him to hold on, that Chuck can still make it out. Well, Chuck and Morgan got captured, whoops! But while tied up, Chuck lays everything out on Morgan, gives him all the info he’s been hiding for 2 ½ years.  Just then, the baddies return to off Chuck and Morgan and will you look at that Chuck flashes on some good ole Kung Fu. Whoops, bad guys, you forgot he was kinda a badass in a dorky way! Morgan and Chuck emerge in the yogurt shop unscathed and Morgan implores Agent Walker to “Bag ‘em and tag ‘em.” The day is saved.

The Buy More crew’s revolution ends when Shaw informs them that due to their loyalty display, they will not be sold. Ellie and Awesome return from vacation and Awesome confronts Chuck about being used by the Ring. Awesome is unsure that the government can protect him and Ellie, but Chuck tries to reassure him. No sale. Awesome heads back to his apartment and tries to convince Ellie to get away with him, like AWAY AWAY. She’s not sold immediately, but they leave us hanging. And that’s when Casey gets a phone call on the Ring cell phone from a man he knows.

So, that is DEFINITELY a game changer. I am a little surprised they let Morgan in on the secret, but am really looking forward to how it plays out. Do you think Morgan can handle the secret? Will he spill it to Ellie? Will Ellie and Awesome even be there to spill it to? How will Chuck continue to cope with his feelings for Sarah? Will Jeff get over his huffing addiction? Will Jeffster launch a world tour (please say yes!)? So many questions!

GUYS, Where are they!?

“You said that there is still good in your soul. Then prove it.”

Sayid has spent his entire life attempting to do the right things in order to redeem himself for the horrible torture he inflicted upon people while serving for the Iraqi Republican Guard. And, apparently, he’ll spend his flash-sideways life doing the same thing. Problem is, circumstances keep arising where killing or torturing someone is (or he is told is) the right thing.

In his flash-sideways, the Sayid was forced to do the “right thing” by some bad guys, led by none other than mercenary meanie Martin Keamy, who were extorting Sayid’s brother Omer and threatening his family. He stepped up, and killed them all, even after Keamy promised to forgive the debt and begged for his life.

On the island, Dogen attempted to trick Sayid into killing Smocke by feeding him the lines that begin this post. Always in search of redemption, Sayid took the bait, met Smocke out in the jungle, plunged a dagger into his side, and…didn’t kill him. Smocke removed the dagger, handed it back to Sayid and proceeded to promise him what he also guaranteed Sawyer: anything you want. Of course Sayid only wanted Nadia, who had already died, but Smocke claims he can give Sayid ANYTHING he wants, regardless of state of being.

So once again, Sayid was forced to do the “right thing,” this one according to Smocke. He went back to the temple and killed Dogen (the same way Dogen’s men first killed him in the temple pool) and his John Lennon-esque friend, which immediately opened the temple door for Smokey to come in and tear the place, and its inhabitants, to shreds. Before doing so, he told the temple dwellers that because Jacob is dead, no one has to stay at the temple. Smocke is leaving and whoever wants to join him may but whoever stays will die.

Sayid appears to be the only character who recognizes his shortcomings and misdeeds and has attempted to atone for them. So he’s a good model for repentance. But time and time again, he’s put in positions where he has to break out his torture tool kit or a glock and bring the noise in order to do the “right thing.” So does that just make him weak-willed? Or does he sometimes put himself in the position to wreck havoc because he needs that outlet of violence, fulfilling the typical stereotype of soldiers changed by war who become addicted to the thrill (see The Hurt Locker) of brutality. He is one of my favorite characters, and has been from the beginning, but I am beginning to think that Dogen may be right about him. Before he even came back from the dead, Sayid did seem to have the internal scale tipped more toward evil than good.

Now, it appears that resurrected Sayid is definitely a bad guy, but I suppose that judgment also rests upon the debate I opened last week (and would still like to continue since I only received one response) about whether Smokey/Man in Black/Smocke is good or evil.

“RPD” raised a valid point on this subject on the comment board last week: “If the theory you presented that Sawyer and Jack may be the protégés of Smocke and Jacob is factual then we should be able to compare the personalities of the doctor and con-man to assess the nature of the other two men. If this is the case then we can assume that the man in black is using the same techniques of a con-man, such as pathological lying for your own gain, where Jacob is using the same as doctors which is to give the impression of hope to benefit the lives of others.” WRITE SOMETHING MORE.

But back to the recap. Besides Sayid’s little tripartite slaughter, the most crucial aspect of Sayid’s flash-sideways is the appearance of Nadia. In Sayid’s flash-forward, the love of his life has married his brother Omer. Sayid still harbors a love for Nadia, but in yet another attempt to atone for his past, he pushed her toward his brother because his past transgressions preclude him from being with the girl of his dreams (apparently he has no regard for her desires).

Also in the flash-sideways, the now-expected Islander guest appearances: one from Jack Shephard (Sayid passes him in the hallway when he visits Omer at the hospital) and one from Jin (Sayid finds him in a walk-in freezer after killing the Keamy Trio- I like to think this is a really hip nouveau jazz group).

On the island, Claire has been captured and stuck in a hole in the temple by the other Others. Kate tells her she’s been raising Aaron and explains that she returned to rescue Claire but Claire tells her that she does not need rescuing. After Sayid’s murders lifted whatever barrier prevented Smokey’s entrance to the temple and the Black Smoke Monster began raising hell, Kate and Miles start to run away but Kate retreats into the temple to save Claire. Rousseau 2.0 tells Kate she’d be safer in the hole with her and as Smokey approaches, Kate hops in just in time to catch the Black Smoke Monster pass over her. Just as we saw with Eko in season two, flashes appeared in the smoke.

So once all was said and done, only three of our friends survived the Smoke-out. Miles, aided by Ilana, Lapidus, Ben, and Sun (where did they come from?) found shelter by pushing that ouroboros stone we talked about last week and uncovering a secret hiding place. No clue yet why Ilana knows the secret floorplan of the temple.

Claire, Sayid, and Kate were also spared. The scene where they walk out to meet Locke, climbing over carcasses and passing by burning rubble (anyone else catch the burning cross?) with “Catch a Falling Star” playing in the background CREEPED ME OUT. Capital letters are necessary because that moment was eerily uncomfortable.  I’m not sure yet why Kate decides to follow Smocke and the others. One obvious answer is that she is just fulfilling her mission of bringing Claire back to Aaron. She could also be just joining another group in the hopes of finding something that will make her happy (it’s only been like two days and she’s already tried out the temple crew, Sawyer and the lonely jungle). Or, and I’m not sure if I believe it but it is possible, she too has been claimed by whatever has taken hold of Claire and Sayid. Perhaps when Smokey passed over her in the hole. Another variation of this idea is that whatever she saw in the Smoke Monster flashes made her believe in whatever Smocke is about to do.

While on the island Sayid’s internal scale was weighed down with evil, the scale of the show was equally balanced with questions and answers. Let’s start with why Sayid failed to kill Smocke. I’ve mentioned a few times this idea of rules governing who can kill whom. I do not have much backing behind these rules, although I’ve posited that it relates to blood lines. I believe Smocke had to convince Ben to kill Jacob because the rules prevented him from doing it himself. In such a way, I believe the rules prevented Sayid from killing Smocke as well. Although now I’m thinking it has less to do with bloodlines, considering Sayid is Iraqi. But I still hold that there are certain rules behind who can murder who. This is the fourth example of it (Ben failed to kill Locke, Widmore got Keamy to kill Alex for him, Smocke got Ben to kill Jacob for him, and now Sayid failed to kill Smocke). Now we just need to figure out for sure how the rules operate and why they are in place.

My dear friend and Lost viewing buddy Kayley was more stuck on notion that Sayid couldn’t kill Smocke after he had spoken. Dogen does say that if he speaks it is too late. I am not sure if that was just a warning of “Do it fast before he has the chance to kill you or talk you out of it” or if the act of speaking has the power to negate the injury. I clearly like my rules theory so I am sticking with that one for the time being, but will consider adding in a “speaking clause.”

Next, we had an interesting parallel between stay-on-the-island-Locke and leave-the-island-Jack at the beginning of season four and what happened last night with Smocke giving everyone the choice to either stay or go again.

Finally, we’ve got an issue on the island with manipulation. It seems as if everyone in power on the island has about thirty strings they are pulling at any given moment to make people do what they want. We first saw this with Ben, that maniacal mastermind who was always thinking forty steps ahead of the game. Turns out he, much like all of the candidates, was just being manipulated by Jacob. Now we see both Smocke and Dogen offering promises, “telling the truth,” and just generally steering certain people in the direction they want them to go.

Two weeks ago I shared a theory my brother and I were tossing around that Jacob represents determinism while Smocke represents free will. After the past two episodes, I’m now more inclined to believe that no one has any control over their own lives at all. Lost is trying to tell us that even when you think you’re acting of your own accord, someone else is really pulling the strings. And if you are the puppet master, you’re either being controlled by another being or unconsciously reacting to someone else’s actions and not exercising free will at all. Bleak thought, but one that rings especially true to me. (Editor’s Note: WOW, DEPRESSING) My favorite professor of all time (and not just because she’s obsessed with Lost too), Julia Kaziewicz of the American Studies department, spent all last spring dropping her pen and explaining that we often only have the illusion of free will. The example she gave is that you wake up every morning and put on clothes, thinking that it is your choice to do so. But have you ever thought about what it would be like to not put on clothes? You get dressed because society tells you you have to be clothed, you have no choice in the matter after all. Similarly, on the island, no one has any agency; they are either being controlled or reacting.

Well now this is just getting long. So I will stop. But please comment below sharing your thoughts about whether the Man in Black/Smokey/Smocke is good or evil. And what you think about my free will rant. Or just share some theories of your own.

See ya in another week, brotha! (Actually, I’ll be on a tropical island of my own next week so the posting of the blog depends on the availability of WiFi. If I can watch, write, and send from my Spring Break locale, it’ll be up, otherwise you’ll have to wait until my return Sunday night.)

Speaking of Claire, we got to see more of her in this week’s episode as well. She helped pry Jin’s leg out of the trap he got caught in a few episodes ago and sewed him up in her jungle hideout. After that, she dragged the other Other that she shot at a few episodes ago as well to her hideout to be questioned about the whereabouts of Baby Aaron. She was convinced they were holding him, and when Jin told her that Kate had been caring for Aaron, she put a hatchet into the other Other. Jin recanted, saying he only told her to save the man, and Claire confessed that if it were true, she’d kill Kate. If all of that is not crazy enough for you, she also chatted it up with Smocke like they were old pals.

Elsewhere on the island, Hurley and Jack managed to escape the temple by following instructions Jacob gave Hurley via ghost sighting. How did Hurley and Jacob get Jack to agree to come along? By telling him “You have what it takes,” exactly the opposite of what his father had been telling him his whole life. The two men travel to the Lighthouse, where they find three mirrors and a big dial with names written at every degree that they were told to set at 108 degrees to help bring a friend of Jacob’s to the island. While spinning the mirrors, Jack sees a building in the reflection. When he sets the dial to the number where his name is written down, Jack sees in the mirror his childhood home. Before getting to 23, the audience catches glimpses of the church where the Kwons got married and the church where Saywer’s parents’ funeral was held. Infuriated and confused, Jack demands to see Jacob and when Hurley explains he can not make him appear, Jack smashes the mirrors. Shortly thereafter, Jacob does come back and tells Hurley that he could not just tell Jack to do something, he had to come to the realization himself. Jack had to realize how important he is on his own (or rather, with subtle Jacob manipulation).

After seeing the dial with all of the names written on it and scratched out, I am convinced that Jacob has been working so hard gathering these candidates because this is the end. I would bet money that Jacob and MIB’s names are written somewhere on that dial, as are the names of the people who were candidates when they were chosen and the people who came before them. But the dial is filling up, time is running out, and Jacob needs to find the final protector of the island.

Here’s a question I have: why so many candidates? And why is Kate not one of them? Her name was on the dial, but Smocke did not list her as a candidate. My guess is that Kate is there purely to help facilitate Jacob’s manipulations. What is Jacob looking for in the next island protector? And is he manipulating events to test the candidates?

My other question requires a response from my readers. Who is the good guy and who is the bad guy? At this point we are going to assume that the Man in Black = Smoke Monster = the thing inhabiting Locke’s body. So far, we know that Jacob has lied, manipulated, and controlled. MIB, on the other hand, claims to be honest and there is no evidence of the contrary thus far. Nonetheless, he is portrayed as evil and Jacob as good. Why does the audience insist that Jacob’s tricks are for good and MIB’s honesty is false? What do you think? Please comment below and tell me what you think!

There are a few things from the episode I want to point out in case you missed them.

The hieroglyphic Hurley stared at in the hallway represents an ouroboros, the snake eating its tail symbol of cyclicality that Mrs. Hawking has a pin of. Also, the name associated with number 108 on the dial is “Wallace.” And we got to see Adam and Eve – the skeletons in the cave – again. I especially enjoyed Hurley’s remark that possibly the skeletons belong to Jack and him after a time traveling mishap. The theory that the skeletons actually belong to two of the survivors has been circling since last season and the writers’ wink to the audience amused me. Finally, the song David is playing on the piano is the same song Daniel Faraday played in last season’s “The Variable” episode.

Some Lost enthusiasts are speculating that Faraday is David’s piano teacher. Others have posited that Jack got his appendix taken out the same year they blew up the island (if he got it removed when he was seven, he was born in 1970 and would have been thirty four when the plane crashed…it works!). Rumors are also flying that Juliet is David’s mother. But these are just wild guesses.

And I’ll end tonight with another fan theory to share with you all, this week courtesy of Rambler Chase Mizelle: “Jacob has his list of potential replacements, [and] given the necessary balance for white versus black, wouldn’t it make sense that the Man in Black needs a replacement too? Could this all end with Jack as the new Jacob and Sawyer as the new MIB – both bound to protect the island, Jack wanting to protect it and Sawyer wanting to leave?” After the whole Sawyer/Smocke (assuming Smocke = MIB) interaction in the episode two weeks ago, this theory seems quite plausible.

See ya in another week, brotha!

First and probably only Twilight reference, ramblers. March is a great month. I have mixed emotions about March.  First, it’s still cold, then it’s like kinda warm sometimes, but never like realllllllllllly warm enough to make you feel comfortable in wearing warm-like clothes. Also, rain. Rain happens. All that snow that was pretty and white (except this year, too much snow El Nino. PACK IT IN!) turns into nasty rain because of the kinda warm weather. But also, March Madness. And THIS is why we call this blog Pop RAMBLINGS.  Love it or hate it, thanks to a calendar created 500 years ago, we get this month, semi-appropriately named for the Roman god of war.  Since we’re stuck with it, we may as well go ahead and GET FIRED UP, here’s why:

Movies
Green Zone (March 12th)- Matt Damon. Paul Greengrass. You remember them from a little movie franchise tagged with the name “Bourne.”  Well, from the trailer it appears this dream team has taken Bourne to Iraq.  When speaking about this film to a few of my friends last week I said “It’s the guys who brought you Bourne and if that’s not enough, Matt Damon takes out a helicopter by himself, so there.”  And that’s really how I feel on the subject. Helicopter vs. Man where the man wins is always a draw for me. I’m a simple man, folks.  Especially, with recent news that there will not be a Bourne 4 with these two involved, this may be our last taste of the this dynamic duo, so drink up while the drinking’s good.
Also: Hot Tub Time Machine (March 26)- This movie is singlehandedly trying to bring back the high top fade. I’m in.

TV
Minute To Win It (March 14)- Tapping into that vein of innovation and ingenuity we all have, Minute To Win It pushes contestants to their very edges whilst playing games that no one has ever played before. Or if you have, it was probably when you were either so bored or so intoxicated that your creative juices were running high.  It reminds me of the episode “Office Olympics” of The Office where they have made up every game like “Flonkerton.”  I think the Average Joeness of the athletes and games is really fun and funny.

Music
Broken Bells- Broken Bells (March 9)- Danger Mouse teams up with The Shins’ James Mercer for a new project. One song I’ve heard a LOT, called “The High Road” promises really great things from this pairing.  Is it a weird pairing? Yes. But we all know that Danger Mouse is kinda a wiz (See: Barkley, Gnarls), who seems to pull new things out of people and given that Mercer is one of my fave musicians (<3 The Shins), I think we are all in for a big treat.  On the last Shins album, you could hear a bit more play with rhythm and beat (“Sea Legs”) so Mercer was clearly looking to explore some new sounds. I am pumped.
Also: March 9 is a BIG day, new Gorillaz- Plastic Beach, new Frightened Rabbit- The Winter of Mixed Drinks, The Morning Benders- Big Echo, and PR fave Ted Leo and the Pharmacists releases The Brutalist Bricks. And also a little harmonizing vocals paired with some banjo explosion in the form of Mumford & Sons- Sigh No More on March 2. Great month for tunes.

Remainders
God of War 3 (Playstation 3)- As far as cinematic, uber-violent, Mythology-based video games go, it’s pretty much impossible to beat this franchise. Kratos returns to just keep beating people up. This guy’s bed doesn’t HAVE a right side. He just doesn’t know when to stop slaying everything because he really just does that constantly. So fun to be had while taking down those lambs rocking your lion head gloves.

Oh wow! Did you see what I did there? Lions, lambs. March baby. Pure madness.

Sarah Walker- Chuck’s handler/on-and-off love interest/forbidden object/Fro-Yo artist
Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) is a woman of many hats, but more specifically, many dresses. She is the obvious Geek’s dream. She is gorgeous, funny, kinda into a geek, and could beat up a small tiger. She and Chuck have had a romantic spark since the pilot and it’s clear that they’re destined to end up together at least in Chuck’s mind. Biggest Mystery: How does she make frozen yogurt so hot while maintaining its frozenness?

Lou- Singly-named Sandwich Artist
Lou (Rachel Bilson of The O.C. fame), Chuck’s first non-Sarah love interest is just as hot as Sarah, but somehow they figured naming her after your plumber made it seem more real. Right. Well Lou was short-lived, but a firecracker and a notice that Chuck really was a charming geek. Lou however may not be all she’s cracked up to be. Biggest Mystery: Does she make a mean PBJ or is she solely gifted with the salted, cured meats?

Carina- Cold-hearted SuperAgent
Carina is an old pal of Sarah’s but that’s where most of the similarities end. Sarah is a warm, feeling person (as far as superspies go), while Carina will do whatever it takes to get the job done. This often means breaking a fella’s heart, but it’s usually a bad guy’s so who cares?!  Until Morgan (Chuck’s best bud) sets his sights on her and she crushes his dreams rapidly. Played by the gorgeous Mini Anden, Carina does NOT mess around. Biggest Mystery: How much lingerie can one girl possibly own, superspy or not?

Hannah- Nerd Herder Extraordinaire
New to Chuck this season, Hannah (Kristen Kreuk, formerly of Smallville), almost immediately took a shine to El Chuck. They met a mile high, but did not join the club of the same name. In fact, I thought it was a single episode fling, but she has been on for a few now and they are starting to really turn up the heat.  She has helped Chuck put Sarah behind him for the time being, I guess maybe to the side of him is more apropos. And she makes a mockery of the “dorky” Nerd Herd uni. Biggest Mystery: Will she ever date anyone whose job doesn’t have “super” in it as an adjective? First Superman, now superspy. Seems unfair.

Ellie Woodcomb (nee Bartowski)
Even Chuck’s sister is a beauty. Ellie (Sarah Lancaster, who I think was on Saved by the Bell: The New Class, just IMDB’ed, she was) is a fantastic older sister. She shows constant concern for Chuck’s well-being, but also knows when to give him a kick in the butt. She is in the dark as to Chuck’s double life, but the fact that she believes Sarah would be into a geek of Chuckian proportions makes it obvious she loves her brother. Biggest Mystery: When will she and husband Devon (who Chuck calls Captain Awesome) legally change their last name to Awesome?

Dr. Jill Roberts- Double Agent of the Heart
Most melodramatic made-up nickname of all-time. Jill (Jordana Brewster, formerly of Derek Jeter’s Arm) is the kind of girl you dream of, until you meet her for more than like 30 minutes.  Jill has flip-flopped more than Brett Favre on her allegiances. First, she breaks Chuck’s heart in college, then she sucks him back in, then she tries to kill him. I mean I guess we ALL know someone like Jill, right? Right? Devastatingly beautiful and deadly at the same time, Jill is one mean mama, someone truly worth of the most melodramatic made-up nickname of all time. Biggest Mystery: How will she screw with Chuck next?

So there you have them, well, some of them. This is 6 of about 10-15 mysteriously Chuck foxes. Tune in to keep seeing Chuck and his lovely ladies on NBC at 8pm EST.

Yvonne Strahovski Photo: NBC/Mitchell Haaseth
Rachel Bilson Photo: Paul Drinkwater/Carin Baer/NBC
Mini Anden Photo: http://chuck-nbc.wikia.com/wiki/File:104carina.jpg
Kristin Kreuk Photo: Pizquita
Sarah Lancaster Photo: NBC/Mitchell Haaseth
Jordana Brewster Photo: WireImage

This is one of the strangest things about writing a blog like this, I find myself giving opinions on all sorts of pop culture media when in reality I’m just a dude who loves this stuff. I certainly don’t have the highest standards or the most refined taste.  Let’s be honest, a quick look at my DVD collection would reveal my preferences for goofy comedies and action flicks.  The fact that this year was the year I’d seen the highest percentage of Oscar nominees and 3 of them are action or sci-fi and one is a war movie … well you get it.  So I don’t know why you read me, but THANKS.

The thing I love most though about this little passion project is the way it has let me connect with folks, be that family, friends, and on occasion strangers. I care about pop culture, I love it and so I love it all the more when I can connect with someone over something pop culture-related. Silly stuff, but it’s fun. Anyways, I just wanted to write a quick thanks to everyone who reads and continue to push you to comment, suggest, and help grow the PR community.

Thanks!

Anyways, pop culture is not immune to this brandification, in fact many movies create or pimp brands just as bad in the fake world as they do in the real one.  Quentin Tarantino’s “Red Apple” cigarettes are a great example as they are the brand used almost exclusively in his films. There are tons of others and many which are really well-known. I guess it’s just another example of art imitating life. Or art trying to be life. I digress.

CLASSIC! Image credit: Alex Ross.

Josh: With the number of loyal LOST fans on this thread, I can’t believe that Dharma hasn’t come up. Those jokers branded everything…… ranch dressing, cola, beer, cereal….. I’m willing to bet that Smokey has a Dharma bumper sticker stuck to its butt. I’m sure that this final season will bring us some great new Dharma products and tag lines:

GUYS! WHERE ARE THEY!?

I felt like Lost was speaking directly to me in this week’s episode.

“But you are so close, it would be such a shame to turn back now.”

Not that I ever contemplated turning away from my favorite show and, some may say, sole obsession, but after knocking last episode for being unimportant and rather boring, I needed that nudge from Smocke (Smoke Monster-Locke, for those who have not been keeping up) to tell me that the answers are coming. And then there they were.

Finally, we got some insight into how everyone ended up on the island. After failing to convince Richard to follow him, Smocke tracked down Sawyer and lured him to a cliff-side cave with the promise of answers. Inside the cave, Smocke showed Sawyer a wall covered in names and numbers apparently written by Jacob. All were crossed out, with the exception of Locke(4), Reyes(8), Ford(15), Jarrah(16), Shephard(23), Kwon(42) – this apparently being the previously mentioned “list.”

Photo Credit: Midwest Nerds

According to Smocke, Jacob approached each of the people at a weak point in their lives (that’s one point for Summer for correctly theorizing on that at the end of last season). From that moment on, Jacob controlled certain situations to bring them all to the island because they are all candidates for the job of island protector. Finally, Smocke and Sawyer show us where the rest of the season will probably be headed: a journey together to return “home,” as opposed to the other options of do-nothing-and-die or protect the island from imaginary dangers.

On the other side of the island, Ilana shed some – not much – light on Smocke’s intentions. She explains that he took Richard into the jungle for recruitment purposes and also that Smocke is stuck in Locke’s body for the time being. At Locke’s impromptu funeral, Ben also revealed to Ilana, Sun, and Lapidus his guilt (and repentance) in murdering Locke.

This is where they were! Credit: Jennie Flynn

In the flash-sideways, we also got answers about John Locke’s life sans-crash. He is engaged to Helen and apparently has a positive relationship with his father, two key differences from his pre-crash life. However, he is still the wheel-chair-bound box company employee who is bitter about being in a wheelchair and screaming about people telling him what he can not do. That changes when he comes to the realization that there are certain things he can not do and discovers that Helen will love him nonetheless.

Most importantly, Locke’s life features guest appearances by former friends, Hurley (who owns the box company), Rose (who works at a temp agency, also owned by Hurley), and Ben (a middle school history teacher). Still the nice guy, Hurley also showed a confidence and stability missing from the flashback portrayals of him. Without the healing power of the island, Rose has cancer on the mainland still, but has come to turns with her prognosis and helps Locke do the same. And Ben’s appearance was short, but he was a seemingly normal middle school history teacher as opposed to a manipulative, cold-hearted pawn so that is probably a change for the better too.

But, as we all know, it would not be Lost if at least a few questions did not come up as well. Most notably, who the heck is that little kid? My brother thinks the resemblance to Jacob is uncanny, leading him to believe that it actually is a younger Jacob who lives cyclically (progresses from childhood to teen to adult to death back to childhood and repeats it all over and over). Because the kid referred to Jacob as “him,” not “me,” I am more inclined to peg the boy as a young relative of Jacob’s. Either way, his comment about rules reinforced to me the theory I formed at the end of last season about the connection between the rules and family lines. Still need more info clearly but I am very intrigued about who made the rules and who will punish Smocke for breaking them.

Also, where was Kate’s name on the wall? Jacob visited her too. Is she simply a pawn Jacob uses to control Jack and Sawyer? Why is she not a candidate?

Finally, where/when is Smocke’s home and how are they going to get there?

Despite the (numerous) questions still lingering, I have a few theories. I know I am probably beating a dead horse with this one but I really think I may be onto something with my “flash-sideways are really in the past that something in the future has to set up” idea. I’m thinking the island-sinking, time-rewinding SOMETHING that has yet to occur sends everyone back to the moment Jacob would have touched them. It will not happen all at once, obviously, because they were visited at very different moments (also note: I am assuming here that Jacob visited Hurley and Sayid before the crash as well as after), but gradually one by one they will return to their lives at that point and live out their destinies without Jacob’s manipulation.

This leads me to another theory my brother and I are tossing about. Jacob represents determinism while Smocke represents free will. This season will deal with deciding which is better, or how to balance the two (hence the scale).

That’s all for this week. I really enjoyed this episode and hope that future ones will impress me as much as this one did with balance of questions answered, entertainment, and Lost style (i.e. raising more questions). Nonetheless, I am ready for everyone to be reunited once again.

And even though this is a little late, do yourself a favor and bookmark these Lost Valentines for next year. They may be outdated but they will still entertain any Lost fan.

See ya in another week, brotha!

Summer’s LOST recaps can also be read weekly at flathatnews.com on the TubeTalk Blog.

Photo Credit: NBC

Due to the Winter Olympics, Chuck is on a break. Crap. While I get as patriotic as the next guy come Olympic time, I think many of my friends have the right idea when they say “No one cares about these sports.” I mean honestly, you can look at the Summer Games and there are games and sports which people actually play: Softball (I think it’s coming back), Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Track and Field, etc.  And then there’s the Winter Games, with those perennial favorites: Speed Skating, Nordic Combined (Ski jumping and Cross-Country Skiing), Biathlon (XC Skiing and Shooting), and Curling (a game which combines Bowling and House Cleaning, which to be honest is really fun/funny to watch). So for this, we have Chuck on break.  So now that my Olympics rant is over, I’ll give you my favorite episodes of Chuck.

Chuck vs. The Santa Claus- As far as a Christmas-dedicated television episodes go, this one just kills it. The blatant Die Hard references, right down to a Sergeant Al Powell appearance. It’s one of the tightest hours, Team Bartowski has put together and it shows the great bond between Chuck and his supporting cast.  Given the chance to flee a hostage situation, he sticks (foolishly one might say) with his family and friends to try to get them out of the situation. ONLY to end up in a deeper pile. And it’s the best when his faith in that crew is proven to be worthy. A great, Die Hard reference filled episode which showcases the finest parts of this show.

Chuck vs. Tom Sawyer- This episode slyly references another “classic” movie, The Last Starfighter. But our beloved semi-spy is not the Starfighter in question. Yet it is one of the Nerd Herd, Jeff, who reigns as Missile Command World Champion. The plot revolves around Missile Command’s designer hiding the codes for ACTUAL missiles in the game. And suffice it to say, hilarity ensues. I think what this episode does so well is pay homage to the nerds it laughs with. Using a video game to save the world? Sounds pretty much like a NERDGASM.

Chuck vs. The Suburbs- Ok, maybe all of these episodes reference a movie, because now here’s another one, although this one isn’t quite as blatant. You may be able to guess the movie this references from its title, its The Burbs. Chuck and super spy hottie hottiespy Sarah move into the suburbs to flush out an evil agent. Well, they get more than they gather at just about every turn. Their neighbors are not all they are cracked up to be and sometimes even the non-agents can be just as scary. Bonus points for awesome guest stars Jenny McCarthy and Andy Richter.

Chuck vs. The Alma Mater-Chuck goes out of his comfort zone and back to his old school, Stanford. A former professor of Chuck and former best friend Bryce’s is shot and the team must head back to school to find out what the old prof had on the books. This is one of the best episodes because it’s one of the first that explores the relationship between Bryce and Chuck and we see that Bryce wasn’t always out to get our hero. And in fact, may have been looking out for him from day one.

Chuck vs. the Angel de la Muerte- A fantastic episode which showcases Devon and Ellie more than ever. Casey recuses himself from the mission as he was once given the awesome titular nickname due to his attempted assassinations of the dictator at the center of the episode. Devon is assigned as Goya’s (the dictator) doctor. After saving his life, Goya is indebted to Devon and he continues to make moves to “Save his life” when really throwing off the true assassins. Long story short, the obvious choice for super spy turns out to be not so super and Chuck, Sarah, and Casey have to show Captain Awesome (Devon) how its done. A great showcase of the wider cast IN the spy narrative, something we haven’t had a whole lot of yet.

There are definitely others and I would just suggest getting into EVERY episode. If nothing else, this show leads the league in Foxy Mysterious Women, which by all accounts are some of the best kind. It’s a nerd anthem and one you should really check out especially if you, like me, are not so turned on by the thought of Russian snipers winning medals for the Biathlon.